Bank Jago To Offer Some Banking Services Early

Bank Jago plans to start offering some banking services in mobile apps ahead of its rollout of full-fledged products, Bloomberg reports.

The services Bank Jago plans to offer include loans, which will help the lender gain traction in Indonesia’s burgeoning digital banking industry.

Bank Jago recently got a fresh capital infusion from ride-hailing and payments giant Gojek and Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC Pte, and Bank Jago plans to embed its services with Gojek later this year, Bloomberg writes.

With that integration, the tens of millions of people who have accounts with Gojek will be able to open Jago accounts and manage their finances via the app.

Bank Jago has risen from obscurity in recent months and now is Indonesia’s fourth-most valuable listed bank, Bloomberg writes, and the investments from Gojek and GIC have elevated the profile of the bank. That comes in spite of Bank Jago’s small stature and valuation of just around $116.2 million.

Indonesia, one of the most underbanked markets in Asia, has around 52 percent of its population lacking a bank account. But Bloomberg reports that over 70 percent of the population has a smartphone and has been getting used to digital payment services like GoPay and OVO as methods of conducting business transactions or making payments.

In addition, the partnership with Gojek showcases the potential for FinTechs in the area. The total profit pool on the archipelago is expected to reach $3.2 billion in five years. The Gojek partnership could buoy Bank Jago’s market share while also allowing Gojek to boost its financial services.

Gojek initially invested in Bank Jago in December 2020, and now owns around 22 percent of the bank. The bank is still majority-owned by Metamorfosis Ekosistem Indonesia and Wealth Track Technology, which have a combined stake of 51 percent.

Gojek was founded in 2010 and Bank Jago was founded in 1992 as PT Bank Artos Indonesia.